Bangkok, The president of the National Pig Raising Association believes Depressing prices in the livestock sector is one of the reasons why GDP in the agricultural sector is negative, affecting total GDP in Q1/24, indicating that private consumption is not a problem. Ready-to-eat food products containing pork as an ingredient, which are 10 - 12 times more expensive than farm-to-table pork, can still be sold. But the government sector is pushing down the selling price of farmers. Mr. Sitthiphan Thanakiatpinyo The president of the National Pig Growers Association said According to the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council or National Economic and Social Development Council, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2024 expanded by 1.5% due to the momentum of increased domestic consumption and tourism. continuously But it turned out that agricultural GDP was negative at 3.5%. From tracking the GDP of the agricultural sector since 2023, it was found that the 1st quarter of 2023 had the highest increase, but after that it grew at a low level all the time. In the 1st quarter of 2023, the GDP of the agricultural sector was the highest. This was in line with the price of fattening pigs which was still high and close to the production cost during that period. The National Pig Growers Association noted that GDP growth and private consumption reflected that The consumption behavior of Thai people has changed. Not stuck in terms of product prices As can be seen that Ready-to-eat food products that use raw materials from pork will have a price 5 - 8 times higher than the retail price and 10-12 times higher than the price of live pigs at the farm. But consumer demand in the Food service group that has pork products It is the main raw material that is still growing very high. On the contrary The price of live pigs at the farm will be suppressed by the government, just like the price of other livestock such as chickens, eggs, etc., with the concern that There will be political attacks . Unable to solve the problems of people's livelihoods, they resorted to lowering the prices of agricultural products, especially the livestock sector. In fact Taking care of the prices of all agricultural products which is a multiplier of production volume, will have a positive effect on the GDP of the agricultural sector if farmers sell their produce higher than the cost, which will have a positive effect on continuous circulation in the economy and reduce the burden of household debt as well, having a positive effect on the country's GDP. The president of the National Pig Growers Association reiterated that Solving the problems of people's stomachs in many countries They all focus on career development. Access to income for all groups and development of occupational styles Including marketing to suit the era mainly Therefore, I would like to leave it to the government sector to professionally solve the problems of people's lives. It is not a method of controlling product prices in the producer sector or agricultural product prices, which are reflected in Thailand's much lower GDP in the past 5 years. Compared to countries in the ASEAN group. Source: Thai News Agency